There is a little
problem though,
because what we
consume at home
is visible to us, but
it is only a small
bit of what we usein total.
There are twoinvisible parts.

The first invisible
part is the water
used for the
production of the
industrial products
we consume
everyday, such as
paper, cotton,
clothes. This part
amounts to167 litres per day.

The second big
invisible part is
associated with
the production of
the food we
consume.
This amounts to3496 litres per day
which means that92% of the water
we use is invisible
and it is hidden in our food!

Beef from industrial systems, 3 years, 200 kg:

We call this invisible water Virtual Water, a term coined
by water guru Prof. Tony Allan. The concept of virtual water
helps us realize how much water is needed to produce the
goods we use and the food we eat.

Let's discover why it is invisible.

Consider beef for instance.

In an
industrial beef
production
system
it takes on average
three years before
the animal is
slaughtered to
produce about200 kilos of
boneless beef.

During the three
years the cow
consumes nearly1300 kg of grains
such as wheat,
oats, barley, corn,
dry peas, and other
small grains.

The cow also
consumes 7200 kgof roughages such
as pasture, dry
hay, silage, and
other roughages.

The production of
all the grains and
roughages requires3060000 litres of
water.

We need to take
into account also24000 litres of
water that the cow drinks
during the
three years

and we do not
have to forget the7000 litres for
servicing the
farmhouse and for
slaughtering
processes.

Therefore, in total, we need 3091000 litres of waterfor producing
200 kilos of boneless beef.
This means that to produce 1 kilogram of boneless beefwe need

Can you visualize 15400 litres of water in your head?

Well, if this is a 1 litre water bottle,this is how 15400 litres look like,an 8 by 40 metre water-wall!

40 METRES30 METRES20 METRES10 METRES

litres

15400

Yes, an 8 by 40 metre water-wall!

All completely hidden in a big steak!

Water is precious. But not just for drinking: water is food!
Thanks to the extraordinary work of scientists we know how
much water we need to produce the food we consume. It is
easy to see that some products such as fruit and vegetables
are more water-friendly than others.

coffee18900

beef15400

sheep10400

pork6000

goat5500

chicken4300

cheese3180

rice2500

soyabeans2145

wheat1830

sugar1780

barley1425

maize1220

apple822

so now we know:

most of the water we use - 92 % of it - is used in food
production. Most of this water is managed by the world’s
farmers. With the help of science and technology they have
performed greater and greater miracles in improving water
productivity – in getting more crops per drop.

can we help?

we can!

The good news is that each one of us can also make the
world a little more water secure, ready to face the needs of
our peak population future. How?

The answer lies in our shopping baskets.

The amount of meat in our diet is crucial!
The average daily water consumption of a meat-eating person is 5000 litres of
water per day. The average for a vegetarian is 2500 litres. In countries where
there is a culture of heavy meat consumption, the advice is: one meat-free-day
a week! Every little bit helps.

The type of meat we consume is crucial!
Choose meat raised on grass if you can. It is normally a more sensible use of water resources,
since the land often cannot be used for highly productive crop production. Meat from sheep
almost always falls into this category. Agri-corporations and supermarkets do not generally
fit the grass-fed livestock model. Cheap meat is usually fed on grain, corn-fed beef is the problem.

The food we waste is crucial!
We are highly wasteful, particularly in the industrialized
nations. In the advanced economies we throw away
approximately 30% of the food we purchase. Almost a third!
And with it, all the water resources we use to produce that
food. It would be wise to consider whether we should be
producing and buying that food in the first place, so please,
do not waste!